The 36th Guards Rifle Division () was a
Guards infantry division of the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was formed from the 9th Airborne Corps in August 1942 as a result of the Soviet need for troops to fight in the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
. The division was awarded the honorific
Verkhnedneprovsk for its
crossing of the
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...
in September 1943 near that town, later receiving the
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...
and the
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).
History
The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 1942 ...
, 2nd class, for its actions in the
Uman–Botoșani Offensive in March 1944. It fought in the
siege of Budapest
The Siege of Budapest or Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet Union, Soviet and Kingdom of Romania, Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital (political), capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the b ...
during late 1944 and early 1945, receiving the
Order of Kutuzov
The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established du ...
, 2nd class, for its actions. In late 1945, it was converted into the 24th Guards Mechanized Division. Stationed in Romania, it was disbanded in early 1947.
History
Origins
The 9th Airborne Corps was formed in late 1941 when the
Soviet Airborne Troops
The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno- desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed be ...
were rebuilt after losses suffered in the defense against
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which began in June of that year. It was held in reserve, but after the situation around Stalingrad worsened due to
Case Blue
Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the German Armed Forces' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of the Cauca ...
the ten airborne corps were converted into infantry and sent to the front.
Stalingrad
The 36th Guards Rifle Division was formed during August 1942 in
Ivanovo Oblast
Ivanovo Oblast (russian: Ива́новская о́бласть, ''Ivanovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It had a population of 927,828 as of the 2021 Russian Census.
Its three largest cities are Ivanovo (the ...
from the 9th Airborne Corps. Colonel
Mikhail Denisenko, commander of the latter, continued in command of the 36th Guards; he was promoted to major general on 27 November. In addition to smaller support units, it included the 104th, 106th, and 108th Guards Rifle Regiments and the 65th Guards Artillery Regiment. Entering combat on 11 August in the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
, it served with the
57th and
64th Armies in fierce defensive battles and participated in the encirclement and elimination of the German troops in Stalingrad. For their steadfastness and courage at Stalingrad, 3,000 soldiers of the division received orders and medals, and the 36th Guards' 39th Guards Anti-Tank (Tank Destroyer) Artillery Battalion was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...
.
1943 to 1945
From March 1943 as part of the 64th Army (which became the
7th Guards Army
The 7th Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II and of the Soviet Army during the Cold War.
History
The 7th Guards Army was formed from the 64th Army on April 16, 1943.
64th Army had originally been formed from 1s ...
on 16 April) of the
Voronezh Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...
the 36th Guards fought in fierce fighting on the
Seversky Donets
The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Don ...
to the southeast of
Belgorod
Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics
The population of Be ...
and the defensive phrase of the
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...
. After the army transferred to the
Steppe Front, the division fought in the counteroffensive near Kursk and the recapture of
Kharkov
Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine. , returning to the 57th Army in these battles. On the night of 26 September the division crossed the
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...
and secured a bridgehead on the right bank of the river near Soshinovka northwest of
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
. For their successful Dnieper crossing, eight soldiers of the division received the title
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...
. Developing the offensive, the 36th Guards took the railway station of
Verkhnodniprovsk
Verkhnodniprovsk (or Verkhnyodniprovsk, uk, Верхньодніпровськ, ; russian: Верхнеднепровск) is a city in Kamianske Raion, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. The city is located at confluence of the Samotk ...
, contributing to the capture of the city of the same name on 22 October. As a result, the division received the name of the city as an honorific on the next day.
Denisenko was transferred and replaced by Major General
Georgy Lilenkov in February 1944; Lilenkov commanded the division for the remainder of the war. During the March
Uman–Botoșani Offensive of the
2nd Ukrainian Front
The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War.
History
On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front.
During the Second Jassy–Kishinev O ...
, the 36th Guards, advancing as part of the 7th Guards Army, facilitated the capture of
Novoukrainka
Novoukrainka (, russian: Новоукраи́нка) is a city in Kirovohrad Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Novoukrainka Raion. It hosts the administration of Novoukrainka urban hromada, one of the ...
by the
5th Guards Army and captured the rail junction of
Pomoshnaya, for which it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 29 March. For successful actions in the crossing of the
Southern Bug
, ''Pivdennyi Buh''
, name_etymology =
, image = Sunset S Bug Vinnitsa 2007 G1.jpg
, image_size = 270
, image_caption = Southern Bug River in the vicinity of Vinnytsia, Ukraine
, map = PietinisBug ...
and the capture of
Pervomaysk, the division was awarded the
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).
History
The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 1942 ...
, 2nd class, on 1 April. The 36th Guards went on to cross the
Prut
The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine.
Characteristics
The Prut originates ...
and fought battles on Romanian territory. The division fought in the
Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
, with the 104th Guards Rifle and 65th Guards Artillery Regiments receiving the Jassy honorific on 15 September for their actions in the capture of the city on 21 August.
Between October and January 1945, the division fought in the
Battle of Debrecen
The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the ''Debrecen Offensive Operation'', was a battle taking place 6–29 October 1944 on the Eastern Front in Hungary during World War II.
The offensive was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front ...
and the
Budapest Offensive. For capturing the large rail junction of
Szolnok
Szolnok (; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, wh ...
the 104th Guards Rifle and 65th Guards Artillery Regiments were awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and the 41st Guards Sapper Battalion received the
Order of Alexander Nevsky
The Order of Alexander Nevsky ( ''orden Alexandra Nevskogo'') is an order of merit of the Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious se ...
. For exemplary actions in the breakthrough of strong fortified defenses and the capture of the
Aszód city and rail junction the 106th Guards Rifle Regiment received the
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).
History
The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 1942 ...
, 3rd class. During the street fighting in the
siege of Budapest
The Siege of Budapest or Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet Union, Soviet and Kingdom of Romania, Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital (political), capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the b ...
the personnel of the division were credited with killing 3,600 and capturing 5,300 Axis personnel. For distinguishing itself in the siege of Budapest, the division was awarded the
Order of Kutuzov
The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established du ...
, 2nd class on 5 April. In addition, its 108th and 106th Guards Rifle Regiments received the Order of Alexander Nevsky and the Budapest honorific, respectively, on the same day.
From January 1945, the division, transferred to the
26th Army of the
3rd Ukrainian Front
The 3rd Ukrainian Front (Russian: Третий Украинский фронт) was a Front of the Red Army during World War II.
It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwester ...
, fought in the
Balaton Defensive Operation
Operation Spring Awakening (german: Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) was the last major German offensive of World War II. The operation was referred to in Germany as the Plattensee offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton defensive operati ...
and the
Vienna Offensive
The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945.
After several days of street-to-street fi ...
. The 36th Guards ended the war on the
Mur river
The Mur () or Mura (; ; ; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Müra''Novak, Vilko. 2006. ''Slovar stare knjižne prekmurščine''. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU, pp. 262, 269. or ''Möra'') is a river in Central Europe rising in the Hohe Tauern national park of th ...
near
Judenburg
Judenburg ( bar, Judnbuag) is a historic town in Styria, Austria.
It is the administrative centre of the Murtal district, which was created on 1 January 2012 from the former Judenburg District and former Knittelfeld District. Until 31 December ...
in Austria. During the war, 13,000 soldiers of the division received orders and medals, eleven were made Heroes of the Soviet Union, and three became full cavaliers of the
Order of Glory
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
.
Postwar
In October 1945, the division was converted into the 24th Guards Mechanized Division. The 104th, 106th, and 108th Guards Rifle Regiments became the 77th, 78th, and 79th Guards Mechanized Regiments, respectively. Each of the latter included a separate tank battalion: the 159th Guards for the 77th, the 160th Guards for the 78th, and the 167th Guards for the 79th. The division also included the 125th Guards and 34th Tank Regiments. It was assigned to the 57th Army, which became the
9th Mechanized Army in June 1946, as part of the
Southern Group of Forces
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, ...
. By this point it was based at
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...
in Romania. The division was relocated to the
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...
before its disbandment on 21 March 1947.
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
Further reading
*
{{Soviet Union divisions 1945–1957
G036
Military units and formations established in 1942
Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner